Stocks on Wall Street are fluctuated between gains and losses as the rising US dollar pushed down commodity prices.At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.32 points, or 0.1%, to 11,372.48 after a choppy session.The S&
Stocks on Wall Street are fluctuated between gains and losses as the rising US dollar pushed down commodity prices.
At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 13.32 points, or 0.1%, to 11,372.48 after a choppy session.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4% to 1228.28 while the Nasdaq Composite was also up 0.4% at 2609.16.
The dollar's gain sent commodity prices lower, hitting the stocks of materials, energy and industrial companies. Dow components DuPont fell 1.2% and Caterpillar 0.8%.
McDonald's fell 2% after reporting same-store sales rose 4.8% in November, driven by its McRib sandwich, but fell short of analysts' estimates.
Other markets: Europe mixed, Asia down
European stocks were mixed with most markets finishing off their lows, helped by some encouraging economic news and speculation about mergers and acquisitions.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index finished 0.4% higher at 274.98. The UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.2% to 5794.53, Germany's DAX was down 0.4% at 6975.87 and the French CAC-40 index was 0.6% higher at 3831.98.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower, with Chinese and Hong Kong shares falling on worries an interest-rate increase could be coming over the weekend after Beijing advanced the release of monthly inflation data to Saturday.
Korean stocks were hurt by renewed geopolitical tensions, while Japanese shares advanced as exporters drew support from a weakened yen.
The Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.9% to 10232.33 for its highest finish since June 21. But most other major benchmarks ended lower, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.6% to 4699.92, Korea's Kospi falling 0.4% to 1955.72 and India's Sensex declining 1.2% to 19696.48.
The Shanghai Composite dropped 1% to 2848.55 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.4% to 23092.52.
Commodities: Oil, gold down
Oil prices tumbled after a government report showed a sharp increase in US fuel inventories.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery gave up $US1.25, or 1.4%, to $US87.45 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange lost $US1.15, or 1.3%, at $US90.24 a barrel.
Gold futures fell below $US1400 as rising US Treasury yields made the metal a less attractive investment.
The most actively traded gold futures contract, for February delivery, was down $US15.70, or 1.1%, at $US1393.30 an ounce in New York.
Currencies: Dollar up, euro down
The US dollar rose for a third day against a basket of major rivals after a tentative deal on taxes pushed Treasury bond yields higher.
The dollar rose to ¥84.26, up from ¥83.51 on Tuesday. The euro fell to $US1.3225 from $1.3259.
The UK pound gained 0.1% to $US1.5775.
